


doubt

by catboyitaru



Category: A3! (Video Game)
Genre: 5+1 Things, Getting Together, Kissing, Light Angst, Love Confessions, M/M, Truth or Dare, also juban and sakumasu if u squint, but it's 4+1, for like one part, gaming references courtesy of itaru himself, most of those charas. r mentioned ww, tagged t for swearing bc itaru kinda has a potty mouth, u'll barely see it
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-29
Updated: 2020-12-29
Packaged: 2021-03-10 22:56:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,028
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28394997
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/catboyitaru/pseuds/catboyitaru
Summary: doubt - a feeling of uncertainty or lack of conviction.In which Chikage and Itaru kiss multiple times and still manage to think "does he like me or not?"
Relationships: Chigasaki Itaru/Utsuki Chikage
Comments: 2
Kudos: 72





	doubt

**Author's Note:**

> finally my first fic i write for a3 and it's chikaita woooo!! abt time i wrote smth for them www. i wasn't expecting for this to end up this long tbh?? (a little over 5k of ckit.... man) but ig that's what gay ppl do to u /lh
> 
> thank u to mahi for beta reading this fic and nic for giving a few suggestions!!! love u both /p

They were close. Really close. Itaru bets that Chikage could hear his heartbeat if he listened hard enough. Scratch that, he definitely could, with all his cheat stats and how hard it’s beating in the first place. However, Itaru isn’t about to make it obvious that he’s currently experiencing a shutdown, so he simply tried to keep his focus on his phone, hitting the notes that fell down to the bottom of the screen with more mistakes than he usually makes. Of course, Chikage noticed.

“You’re doing considerably worse than usual, hm?”

Itaru groaned as he got through the last few seconds of the song. “Shut up, senpai. Long day.”

“Have you really done that much today?” Itaru could hear the smugness in the older’s voice, and it irritated him. Oh well, just as long as he didn’t figure out what was making his performance this bad.

“Yes, I have. You’re probably just not tired because your stats are too high. As expected from the cheat character.”

Chikage only chuckled his infuriating yet somehow still charming (Itaru hated to admit) laugh, and didn’t say anything after that. Itaru huffed and chose another song to play, the only sounds in their room being the voices of the girls in Itaru’s game singing.

“Fine, fine, I guess I can spoil you this one time,” Chikage suddenly spoke up again, and he started ruffling Itaru’s hair and taking out his ponytail in the process. Itaru yelped as his hair fell down back onto his face, his combo breaking due to his suddenly limited vision.

“Senpai!” Chikage did nothing but remove his hand and laugh at his expense. “Don’t mess me up like that again… You’re lucky that the song finished.”

“You were already messing up anyway. Does that mean I shouldn’t pamper you from now on?”

“... I didn’t say that,” Itaru didn’t like how quiet his voice was, but he didn’t think he could speak any louder without revealing how his heart was about to burst out of his chest. He didn’t face him, but Chikage placed his hand back on his head and gently started petting him.

“You worked hard today. Good job, Chigasaki.” Itaru couldn’t take it, with how gentle Chikage was suddenly being and how warm his voice sounded.

Itaru turned towards Chikage, a ‘maybe you should spoil me more often then’ on his tongue, but he stopped as he felt Chikage’s lips slightly brushing against his.

_What the fuck._

He snapped back away from Chikage with wide eyes and didn’t know what to do except stare at him before retreating to his bed, not sparing a glance at the other man.

“I-I’m gonna clock in for today. G’night, senpai.” Itaru knew Chikage would be able to see through his bullshit, it just barely hit midnight, but Itaru didn’t care. He just needed an excuse to stop feeling like a girl in a manga that Muku would be reading. He climbed up the ladder to his bunk without turning back to look at his senior and got under the covers as soon as he could, holding his head in his hands for a few seconds before he fell asleep with a burning face.

\---

The place they were in was much too crowded for Chikage’s liking, but he supposed it couldn’t be helped. Itaru had dragged him to another game themed cafe, this time being catered to look like the Tales series. Chikage couldn’t pinpoint which game it was, but he had a pretty good grasp of the series after hearing Itaru talk about it. … Not that he’d ever admit to Itaru that he purposefully listened and kept the information stored in his brain.

They were cramped up against a wall, their bodies close but not close enough to be pressed together. Chikage wanted to leave as soon as possible, his irritation slowly rising until Itaru spoke out to him.

“Pfft, don’t worry senpai, we’ll be able to leave soon, I promise.”

“Hm? What made you feel the need to tell me that?”

  
  
“I’d consider the look on your face to be very telling,” he chuckled before continuing. “It’ll be worth it though, there’s a bunch of limited goods I can get from here. I can even give you one.”

“Thank you for that then,” there was a tiny bit of sarcasm laced in his voice, but he was mostly thankful Itaru had thought of him. They stopped speaking after that and Chikage let his thoughts wander. He had always known Itaru had a pretty face, it’s part of what he considers necessary to keep up his work persona after all, but getting to see it up close was something he didn’t usually get to do. Chikage supposed there’s one good thing that came out of this.

Itaru’s face looked surprisingly soft for how late he was constantly staying up. Chikage wondered how it’d feel if he placed his hand on his cheek, if it would be as soft as it appears. His eyes were sparkling too, like they have been ever since they first arrived. The color of his eyes was enchanting to Chikage, the shade of pink being something he quickly came to enjoy. Chikage sighed and looked away before Itaru could question as to why he was staring. He couldn’t believe he let himself fall in love (he couldn’t believe he could call it that either) with someone, and fall _this_ hard, but, well. The heart wants what it wants.

Suddenly, Chikage felt someone bump into him. Usually he wouldn’t have minded, and would’ve brushed it off, but it caused him to fall forward and place his hands on the wall he and Itaru were in front of. Itaru was now pinned against the wall and they found themselves with their lips pressed together. His hands were on Chikage’s chest, trying to make sure he wouldn’t fall right on top of him, but it put them in a much more… suggestive position than they’d like to be in. Chikage quickly pulled away, luckily looking a lot more composed than he truly felt. Itaru, on the other hand, was very obviously flushed and while Chikage found it absolutely adorable, he did need to apologize for what just happened.

“Sorry.”

“Y-You’re fine,” he spoke. “Wasn’t your fault after all.” Itaru kept his gaze on the floor for the entire time, until they could start moving again. The tension between them was far too high, probably high enough for their waiter to notice, but if they did, they politely acted like it wasn’t obvious.

When they arrived back at the dorms, Itaru handed Chikage one of the goods they got from the cafe without looking at him and quickly walked over to his desk, booting up his computer. They didn’t exchange any words after that incident, but Chikage let his gaze linger on the other man and couldn’t shake off the feeling of Itaru’s lips on his.

\---

Banri didn’t remember how he got roped into this game of truth or dare, probably Kazunari, but he couldn't say he was mad about it. If you asked him the highlight of his day, he could answer with confidence that it was getting to watch Juza sing the featured song for Summer Troupe’s 2nd play. He owed Taichi one later. He even had it recorded just in case he was having an off day.

It was now Citron’s turn to hand out something, and Banri watched as his head quickly turned to Itaru who was sitting beside him.

“Itaru! Trust or dare!”

“Truth or dare,” Tsuzuru corrected him.

“Uhh, truth then?”

“Oh c’mon Itaru-san, don’t be a coward,” Banri kicked him and the older man let out a grunt.

“Ugh, you’re so annoying…” Banri snickered, knowing he got the right response out of him. “Fine, throw a dare at me.”

“I was hoping you’d say that! Okay Itaru, I dare you to give Chikage a kick on the lips!” It was funny watching Itaru’s eyes instantly widen with fear, but Banri wasn’t expecting that either.

“Are you kidding? No way I’m doing that to senpai, I wouldn’t even be able to in the first place. That guy’s stats are too high for me to do that.” Said guy was sitting on Itaru’s left, seemingly amused by what was going on.

“Your doubts about that would be correct, Chigasaki.”

“See?”

“Hold on, hold on,” Tsuzuru was pinching the bridge of nose. “Citron-san, did you mean-”

“Did you mean a kiss?!” Taichi suddenly chimed in.

“Yes, that!” Oh, ohhh. _Holy shit._ Banri brought a hand to his mouth, covering up the quickly growing shit-eating grin on his face. He took a look at Itaru, and he could already see dusts of pink on his cheeks. Banri couldn’t see how Chikage had reacted, but he decided it was okay, considering that things are about to get a lot more fun for him.

“How shameless!” Azami cried out, a blush on his face too. Banri found it funny how the kid was still so traditional. “Kissing is for after marriage!”

“Don’t worry about it, Aachan! It can only be a little peck, right, Citron?”

“Of course!”

Itaru went limp against the couch cushion with a groan before sitting himself back up properly again. He turned to his left, probably glaring, until he spoke again.

“Can I get a different dare?”

“Chicken,” Masumi mumbled loud enough for him and Itaru to hear. Banri started laughing, excited to see how Itaru was gonna get out of this one. It wasn’t hard to tell that Itaru was, y’know, completely head over heels for Chikage, even before Banri forced it out of him. Hell, maybe even the entire company has seen it by now, which is probably why Citron gave him that dare, Banri figured.

Itaru continued refusing for a while and Banri wondered when he was finally gonna give in. “C’mon Itaru-san, it’ll be quicker if you get it over with.”

“Yeah, yeah! I wanna move on to the next turn too!” Taichi was practically vibrating in his seat.

Itaru finally turned his body towards Chikage, but didn’t do anything after that. Banri had to hold back a groan, lazily leaning back on the armrest while he waited for something to happen. Banri was tempted to kick Itaru’s back to push him forward, but he noticed a certain blonde sneaking up from his back to the couch the three were sitting on. Kazunari knew he was caught by Banri, but put a finger up to his lips and sent a wink his way, and soon after that, Kazunari suddenly pushed Itaru into Chikage, successfully getting the two close enough and Itaru’s lips landing on the other’s.

Hell broke loose. The ones in the room, namely Taichi, started screaming at the top of their lungs, things like “Kazu-kun!!” and chatter from Muku going on about how he remembers this happening in a manga he read. (As absurd as that sounds, he _did_ just witness it happen firsthand, so.)

Itaru leaped up away from Chikage and off the couch, retreating to his and Chikage’s shared room. Banri didn’t really know why he decided to go back, considering it was Chikage’s room too, but he couldn’t blame him. Even if this was hilarious to watch, Banri guessed he could understand why Itaru would be panicking this much. He couldn’t really talk either… but that’s not the point here.

Oh well. Banri will talk to him about it next time they co-op together.

\---

The last time Chikage was able to meaningfully celebrate Christmas was when he was with August and December. He couldn’t recognize it before, but now that he thinks back on it, he really did take things like that for granted. He wouldn’t make that same mistake now, however. Mankai’s giving him the chance to make up for the things he lost, and he won’t let that go to waste.

He hears Izumi’s voice ring through the dorms, reaching his and Itaru’s room, letting them know that their party will be starting soon. He glances up, and catches Itaru’s gaze.

“Well, guess that means we should start heading out, hm?”

“Yep,” Itaru replied, pocketing his phone and standing up from their couch to stretch, his shirt and jersey riding up, revealing a tiny bit of his stomach. Chikage stared for longer than he’d like to admit, but was luckily able to hide it before Itaru was done. “Okay, let’s go, senpai.” Itaru smiled at him before walking, and Chikage trailed behind Itaru as they exited their room where they found the others already gathered around the living room and kitchen. Itaru went ahead of him while Chikage saw Hisoka, looking at him as if he needed to pull him aside.

“What,” Chikage deadpanned at him. Hisoka’s expression then changed to something a little more smug. It would’ve been barely noticeable had Chikage been farther away from him, but he’s (unfortunately) able to notice these little things in Hisoka.

“Nothing,” the other man replied, making Chikage’s eye twitch a bit in annoyance. “Have you made any progress?”

“Progress? What do you mean?”

“With Itaru, obviously.”

“For one, I don’t recall me needing you to stick your nose into my business.” Hisoka shrugged. “Second, it’s not like I need ‘progress’ with Chigasaki. What would that even entail?”

“Dunno. Maybe confessing instead of constantly looking at him like all you want to do is take him into your arms without saying anything.”

“I _don’t_ do that,” Chikage hissed at him, glaring at Hisoka with as much intensity as if he was in a world solely filled with mountains and mountains of sweets that would most definitely give him a cavity. Sounds like a world two certain sweet tooths would love to live in.

However, Hisoka has gotten used to it over the years, not at all phased by how Chikage was looking at him. “Well, whatever. You won’t need to worry about making progress by yourself today anyway,” and without saying anything else, Hisoka walked away to where the others were gathered, leaving Chikage on his own to think about what Hisoka just told him. _He’s planning something. Or he already has._ Chikage was irritated he couldn’t tell exactly what his plan was, but he supposed he’d just have to watch out during the party.

“Senpai, c’mon,” Itaru beckoned from the kitchen. “You don’t wanna miss out, do you?” Hearing Itaru’s voice calmed him down a bit, his mood becoming better by the second. Chikage sighed, a little embarrassed by how Itaru made him less aggravated in such a short amount of time. _All he did was speak, get it together._ He walked over to the kitchen, seeing Itaru’s grin when he came together with everyone and deciding that it’s fine to indulge himself just this once.

Soon everyone was digging into the food Izumi and Omi had made together. Of course, with Izumi making part of their meals, that means there was an abundance of curry. Naturally, Chikage didn’t mind, picking up one of the curry dishes first and adding his own usual spices to it. Itaru, who a bit surprisingly wasn’t focused on his phone, glanced at him and slightly winced.

“Geez, senpai. Isn’t that spicy enough?”

“Knowing the director, she would’ve made it mild at most. Which isn’t bad, but you know that isn’t quite my taste.”

“Yeah, yeah, whatever you say. Don’t blame me when your taste buds are burnt off.” Itaru sounded exasperated, but the smile on his face made it impossible for him to fool anyone. Chikage couldn’t help but smile back, the banter filling him with a familiar warmth.

“Hm? Could it be that my uncute kouhai is worried about me?” Chikage watched Itaru’s cheeks go pink as the other man took his gaze away from him and took out his phone from his pocket, opening one of his games.

“Sure, whatever you think, senpai.” Itaru _was_ cute, especially right now, not that Chikage would admit that out loud. In the future, maybe.

Time quickly passed with how Kazunari had been going around recording and taking pictures of all the chaos and posting it on Mankai’s Inste page. Said chaos was a drunk Homare reciting poems louder than usual and Tasuku telling him off, his voice also raised in an attempt to reach Homare’s ears. Azami was trying his best to get away from a drunk Sakyo. Chikage didn’t know the reason why, but he could guess it was because Sakyo was finally being a little more open with his feelings for a certain director. As expected, that would be a bit too much for Azami’s ears. Soon, it reached midnight, Masumi already asleep on the couch with Sakuya also sleeping on his shoulder.

“You would think Masumi would be able to stay up past midnight by now,” Chikage commented, quietly observing the scene in the living room from the dinner table. Beside him, Tsumugi let out a small chuckle.

“Seems like some things just don’t change.”

“Hey, senpai, I’m heading back to our room. Tell the others for me, okay?” Itaru’s tone was languid, his eyes on his phone like it has been for a while.

“I may as well head back too. Let’s go.” Itaru hummed in confirmation he heard Chikage and started walking to their room without looking up from his phone.

“I won’t be warning you if you’re about to bump into something, you know.”

“How cruel, senpai. You’d let your cutest kouhai get hurt?”

“That’s quite debatable.”

Itaru huffed. “So completely unromantic,” he grumbled with a fake pout.

“I didn’t say I’d let you get hurt though.” That’s what got Itaru to finally put his focus on something other than the device in his hands. His eyes were slightly widened and the pink on his cheeks that was there before made another appearance.

“T-Thank you for that then. Does that mean you can make sure I don’t get hurt by this gacha?” Itaru stopped in front of their door and held out his phone to show Chikage the scouting screen on the game he was playing. _And you call me the unromantic one,_ Chikage rolled his eyes, but took the phone nonetheless and got ready to tap the button to pull before he was interrupted by a voice a few feet away from him.

“Uwah~! Itaroon and Chikachon are under the mistletoe!”

_What._

Chikage looked up, and true to Kazunari’s word, there was a mistletoe hanging on their door frame. So _this_ is what Hisoka meant. Chikage was going to kill him later. However, first he had to get past… whatever this was.

“Uh-” Itaru barely spoke before he shut his mouth closed, and it reminded Chikage of how Itaru looked when they were at the Tales cafe, all silent with feelings of being flustered and less of a brat. For whatever reason (mainly to get this over with), Chikage was feeling bold, and he gently cupped Itaru’s cheek in his hand, causing the other to look directly at him, while his other hand landed on Itaru’s waist. Itaru’s face was unforgettable, with his widened garnet eyes and unbelievably red cheeks. It only made Chikage want to kiss him more.

So that’s exactly what he did.

Chikage pulled Itaru closer, and slowly pressed his lips against the other’s. Ignoring the ruckus around them, Chikage slowly felt himself melting into their kiss, getting warmer by the second as Itaru finally placed his hands on his shoulders, his phone seemingly being pocketed. Chikage could feel Itaru gradually relaxing, and that made him happy for a reason he didn’t know.

Unfortunately, they had to pull away eventually. When they did, almost everyone who witnessed what just happened was silent in shock, save for Banri who let out a little whistle.

“W-What was that?!” Azami was the first to burst out, instantly yelling at the two men who had just kissed in front of him. “You can’t just do that sort of thing in front of everyone!”

“They couldn’t help it Aachan, they were both under the mistletoe!”

“Though…” Azuma started, amusement lacing his voice. “You two _could_ have just left it at a little peck. There was no need to take it that far, unless…” That’s when Chikage turned to Azuma, and he simply let out a little chuckle.

“Well, that's that.” Chikage spoke quickly and let go of Itaru, the warmth leaving him as soon as he released him. He opened the door to their room without saying anything else and waited until Itaru was also inside before closing it. They stared at each other for a few minutes, Itaru breaking their eye contact first by going up to his bunk and opening the game he was playing before that… incident.

He was definitely going to have a talk with Hisoka later.

(From that talk, he learned that Banri was the one who snuck to their room in the middle of the party to hang up the mistletoe and Hisoka was the one to give him the all clear of when to leave. Little bastards.)

\---

(+1)

Itaru was conflicted. He was glaring (not really) at his senpai across from him, who luckily was focused on his computer.

He couldn’t get the day of the Christmas party of his mind, getting so badly distracted that Banri told him to get off their game for now. Even though he was the one that caused that situation in the first place, Itaru noted.

_“Why’d you even do that anyway?”_ Itaru asked, Chikage thankfully currently away from their room. _“Last time I checked, I didn’t ask for help with my love life from a guy six years younger than me.”_

_“Well you obviously need it! You guys would be nowhere without me doing that. Glad I convinced Hisoka-san too.”_ Technically, Banri wasn’t wrong but… they _had_ already kissed a few times beforehand, granted most of them by accident. That also confused Itaru, but he couldn’t think about that right now.

_“Still can’t believe you got him in on that. How many marshmallows did it take?”_

_“Not that many, really. I think he wanted to help Chikage-san too.”_

_“Pfft, with what?”_

_“Getting together with you, duh.”_

_“What?!”_ Itaru’s confusion was off the charts. Why would Hisoka want to help Chikage get with him? _“Why?”_

_“You kidding, Itaru-san? If we didn’t know any better, the rest of the company would've thought you guys were dating already.”_

_“Do-”_ Itaru cut himself off. _“Do we really seem like that?”_

_“Yeah-huh.”_

Now Itaru finds himself unable to look at Chikage without his face warming up. He really didn’t want to ask, but… He’d have to get past this level somehow.

“Hey, senpai.”

“What is it, Chigasaki?”

Itaru didn't know where he was going with this. He felt like he was in a dating sim and RPG all at once, Chikage being the final boss that he had to defeat by getting his affection level high enough.

“The company thinks we’re dating, you know.”

“Is that so? Where did that come from?”

Shit, not like Itaru knew where that idea came from either.

“Dunno. Maybe it’s your fault.”

“My fault?”

“Yeah, like… Do I really seem like the one who makes a relationship obvious to you?”

“I suppose not. However, you _are_ the one who wholeheartedly takes all my teasing. Could it be that you actually enjoy it?”

_The boss’ defense stat increased!_

“Hmm? I like it much better when you spoil me though?”

“See, now that’s something that would give others the wrong idea.” Itaru couldn’t deny that Chikage was right about that.

“You say stuff like that too, you know. What’s with all the ‘my uncute kouhai’?”

“Like you can talk, Chigasaki. Does ‘unromantic senpai’ sound familiar to you?”

Itaru had nothing to say to that, and that’s when Chikage looked up and smirked at him, knowing he got the upper hand.

“You’re unfair, senpai.”

“Haha,” the other laughed as he looked back down at his computer.

A wave of silence washed over the two. The boss is idle now. Time for Itaru to let out a special attack.

“... What if we were dating?” If Itaru was being completely, 100% honest, he was scared as hell. Scared that by asking this, he’d lose the comfort he found in their banter, scared that he’d mess up their troupe’s dynamic, scared that he’d lose everything. 

Scared that he’d lose Chikage and lose the person that made him feel whole again. Though he had no choice but to keep going.

“I… I like you, senpai. Love you, even.” Chikage reacted to that word specifically. Love, huh...? Yeah, Itaru did love him. “So, will you let me unlock your good end?”

“... Do you know what you’re getting yourself into, Chigasaki? Do you know all the risks that come with loving me?”

_Fuck._ “I do, so-”

“Do you really?” Itaru was panicking. He didn’t really expect this to go well in the first place, but…

“... Fine. You could’ve just said no, senpai.”

“That’s not what I meant-”

“But it is, isn’t it? It’s fine, you don’t feel the same way, so-”

“Don’t decide things like that for me.”

“Then what is it?! What else could it be other than me not being good enough?!” He couldn’t do anything about his voice raising in fear. This is what he gets for laying his feelings bare, isn’t it? He was going to end up alone again, he's already ruined everything, he-

“Chigasaki.” Itaru went quiet after that, not trusting his own voice. He was definitely going to cry if he said anything else. “I never said I didn’t feel the same. If anything, I do, and I’m impressed that you beat me to saying it. But…” he trailed off, his voice lowering. “I can’t.”

“... Why not?” Itaru couldn’t bring himself to make his voice louder than a whisper.

Chikage let out a pained laugh. It even hurt Itaru to hear. “I promised I would protect everyone here, but if I mess up, what then? I wouldn’t know what to do with myself if I… if I let anyone get hurt. I can’t lose anyone here.” Chikage’s voice wavered the more he talked, and he finally understood. Itaru felt that there was something else Chikage wasn’t saying, but that was fine. Itaru knew how it felt. For now...

“Y’know, senpai,” he started. “Your stats are insanely high, so even if you do mess up, you’ll still defeat that seemingly impossible boss. You’ll get through it, and plus… You won’t be alone. The rest of the troupe will be here with you, including me. We’ll… we’ll protect you too.”

Chikage had a look of slight awe on his face before finally letting out a small smile. “How sappy.”

“Hey, we have this flow already, might as well go all the way.” Itaru was smiling now too, thankful they could still talk like this. An idea popped into his head, now that they’ve sort of figured this all out.

Itaru got up and warily walked over to Chikage, slowly sitting down beside him. “So. You feel the same way.”

“I do.”

“And we just beat that level. That level where the only weapon we needed was to talk to each other.”

“We did.”

Itaru couldn’t believe he felt like a schoolgirl in love all over again just sitting this close to Chikage. They just had a cheesy (but necessary) heart to heart, what’s he getting all worked up for now?

“Don’t make me spit it out, senpai…”

“Hmm? Spit what out?” Itaru fully knew Chikage was teasing him. It wasn’t hard to tell by the tone of his voice.

“You know exactly what I mean. I said it earlier.” Itaru huffed and shyly took Chikage’s hand in his, laying his head on the other's shoulder. “This okay?”

He felt more than saw Chikage nod, which was good enough for him. His hand was surprisingly warm, and it fit just perfectly in his own. Itaru went red at the thought.

They were silent for a little while before Chikage spoke up again. “Chigasaki.”

“Hm?”

“Unlock my good end.”

Itaru lifted his head to look at Chikage with slightly widened eyes. “Aha, what do you look so surprised for? You were the one who asked me.”

“W-Well yeah, but-” Chikage leaned in and cut him off with a gentle kiss. He pulled away before Itaru could do anything, which frustrated him just a little bit.

“That's mean, senpai. Doing that without any warning and not even giving me time to react,” Itaru feigned being upset, even putting a pout on his face. He finds himself doing that a lot.

“You liked it,” Chikage replied. He didn’t say anything to that, and simply leaned in like Chikage did to kiss him again. This one lasted longer, both of them taking it slow and Chikage’s free hand eventually moving to cup Itaru’s cheek. When they pulled away, Chikage’s hand didn’t leave his face, which oddly made Itaru happy. They stayed close, leaning their foreheads against each other.

“We're dating now, huh?”

Chikage’s tone was fond as he responded. “No need to say it.”

“Just felt like it.” A cheeky grin found its way onto his face, one he knew would provoke Chikage in some sort of way. He was proven right, as Chikage gave him another quick kiss, as if to take the cat-like smile off of his face.

They’d deal with telling the others sometime soon. Itaru had a feeling Banri would snark him, saying something like it took him long enough, but that was fine. Itaru was content, basking in the feeling of happiness settling in his body and of being in Chikage’s arms. Something was telling him they’d be okay. A little voice, as if Gwen was there beside him. They still had a bit to sort out, but they’d get through it. Itaru was still a bit scared of course, memories from high school trying to invade his mind, but he’d trust in both Chikage and himself.

This was the ending Itaru had unlocked, and he wouldn’t want it any other way.

**Author's Note:**

> hope u guys enjoyed ckit dancing around their feelings and me forcing them to deal w them /lh comments r very very appreciated!! talk to me on twitter @kajiyamafutas hehe


End file.
